The management of the abscesses of hip disease / by A.B. Judson.

  • Judson, Adoniram Brown, 1837-1916.
Date:
1885
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: The management of the abscesses of hip disease / by A.B. Judson. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by The Royal College of Surgeons of England. The original may be consulted at The Royal College of Surgeons of England.

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    which took place in the New York Pathological Society in April, 1883.* It can hardly with reason be supposed that the pro- cesses, either destructive or reparative, which take place in the bone in the progress of this disease, can be affected by incisions, local medications, dressings, the introduction of drainage-tubes, the injection of antiseptic fluids, the distension of the sac of the abscess, or the use of the faradic current f as a means of hastening suppuration, when we consider that purulent collections, sinuses, and discharging fluids are but phenomena of the soft parts, secondary in every sense to the changes taking place in the bony tissue. If the collection of pus were the starting- point or the main feature of the disease, an early and free incision, as for a furuncle, would be admissible. But in hip disease the trouble is primarily and chiefly a disease of the bony tissue composing a joint, which is best treated gener- ally by the administration of tonics and the regulation of the hygiene, and locally by fixation and protection from violence. If abscesses occur, it is shown by experience that the retention of pus, even in large quantities, or the pres- ence of a purulent discharge, does not prevent the process of repair. In the cases under review, 30 per cent, of the sinuses * “Med. Kecord,” May 25, 1883, p. 684. On this point Mr. Ford wrote as follows: “ There is no rational system known which can point out the advantage to be derived from an artificial opening, made in any way whatsoever, during this stage of the disease; neither is there one case on record where an active employment of the art of operative sur- gery has been found materially useful in this period of the complaint.” “ Disease of the Hip Joint,” by Edward Ford, second edition, London, 1810, p. 111. \ Dr. A. D. Rockwell has reported cases of phlegmonous and cold abscesses in which good results were obtained by this agent. “ Medical Record,” September 21, IfilS, pp. 226, 227,